The Stirling cycle has long been regarded as an effective means of transforming heat energy into mechanical power. However, engine design has presented many problems in heat transfer, fluid displacement mechanisms, and effective seals, which generally resulted in costly designs with low overall effeciency and low power to weight ratios.
Since increasing demands from society for electrical and mechanical power, and the realization that the existing petroleum reserves may not be sufficient to meet even the needs of the existing generations' fuel requirements at the present rates of increase; and since we are fast approaching the limits of our environment to absorb the polutants produced by internal combustion engines, it has become evident that more power must be provided from other sources such as geothermal, solar, nuclear and other nonpolutant sources of heat. Therefore, much research has been generated in the development of Stirling engines as a means of producing mechanical power from any heat source independent of polutants, if any, from the source.
The object of this invention is to provide a novel means of transferring heat and fluids within a Stirling cycle engine whereby the efficiency and power to weight ratio of the engine will be increased, while simplifying its construction and reducing costs. The prior art includes various pump, motor, and compressor configurations, which may bear a superficial resemblance to this invention. However, such devices do not provide for the displacement arrangement required for the Stirling cycle sequence, do not recycle the system working fluids within the apparatus nor use the motoring elements as heat exchangers. It will be shown that the concept is equally applicable from micro-watt solar engines to mega-watt nuclear power generators within the physical construction limitations and structural integrity of the heat exchangers.